GE Power Systems' Greenville Facility Completes and Ships The World's Largest and Most Advanced Power Generation Technology

Business Wire, Dec 4, 2000

Business Editors

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GREENVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2000

GE Power Systems' Greenville facility has completed, and today shipped, the world's largest, most advanced power generation technology, the H System(TM).

The H System gas turbine is traveling by custom built rail car to the Port of Charleston where Friday, December 8th, it will be loaded onto a cargo ship and transported to the Baglan Energy Plant near Swansea, Wales. Once in Wales, the H System will supply electricity and heat to industrial and commercial facilities as well as to the Welsh power grid.

"The H System represents the latest development in power generation technology," said Mark Little, GE Power Systems Vice President of Energy Products. "When this system begins operation in Wales, it will be the most efficient large combined cycle power generation station in the world. Completing this next generation of power generation technology is a significant milestone for GE Power Systems and the whole Greenville team."

The 9H turbine, the heart of the H System, is 40-feet long, 16-feet in diameter and weighs 410 tons, which is the maximum weight that the rail line between Greenville and the Port of Charleston can hold.

The H System will produce 480 MW of electricity, enough to power 168,000 homes. It will be fueled by natural gas. Gas powered turbines used for power generation are similar to jet aircraft engines, but on a larger scale.

GE Power Systems, GE Aircraft Engines and the GE Corporate Research and Development Center have worked together to develop the H technology.

The GE Power Systems Greenville plant is the largest and most advanced heavy-duty gas turbine production facility in the world. At the facility, GE has the capacity to produce large gas turbines ranging in size from 40 to 480 MW used for generating electric power around the globe. The facility employs approximately 2,900 people and is the largest exporter of manufactured goods in South Carolina.

GE Power Systems (gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2000 revenue estimated at $15.2 billion. The business has the largest installed base of power generation equipment in the global energy industry. GE Power Systems provides turnkey equipment, services and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, distributed power and energy rental industries.

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